10 Actors Who Made Sure They Weren't Seen In TV Shows
Meryl Streep became a master of disguise in Angels of America.
There's no denying that most actors love the opportunity to disappear deep into their characters, and while the bigger-budget world of movies allows actors to undergo shocking physical transformations, it's a little less common in the more frantic, time-sensitive realm of TV.
But every now and then we'll still see a major actor transformed beyond any and all recognition to play a part, often a one-episode bit-part, whereby their presence might even be missed entirely.
In most of these cases the actors made a concerted effort to ensure they wouldn't be noticed by casual viewers, perhaps even actively collaborating on the makeup process to keep their popular appearance as concealed as possible.
The result is a series of transformations which, when finally revealed to viewers, left them utterly perplexed, perhaps even unable to find the actual actor underneath.
Nobody could be blamed for failing to recognise these actors in these roles, as is a testament to both the mesmerising makeup work and also each actor's ability to truly inhabit their character.
If most actors understandably want their face out there as much as possible, these 10 actors did the total opposite...
10. Donald Glover - Atlanta
Small-screen transformations don't get much more drastic than Donald Glover's, er, "makeover" to play Michael Jackson-esque recluse Teddy Perkins in Atlanta's eponymously-titled second season episode.
Glover wore extensive makeup and prosthetics to play the part in "whiteface," received no formal credit for the role, and even went to the extreme of staying in makeup and in character for the duration of shooting.
As a result, fellow cast members Derrick Haywood and Lakeith Stanfield didn't know he was playing the part.
Hilariously, Glover even created a backstory for "Teddy" which he fed to a blissfully ignorant Stanfield. Episode director Hiro Murai was however aware of the ruse, and described staring into Glover's disguised face as "uncanny and unsettling."
At once an ingenious subversion of historical Hollywood racism and a genuinely creepy character in his own right, Glover's decision to disappear into Teddy beyond all recognition was an absolute masterstroke.